The Balinor Chronicles: The Celestial Herd
Chapter Forty-Four: Flop
The Watch of the Twilight herd paced nervously.
Scratch that.
Everyone in the Twilight herd paced nervously.
Except for Moloth.
And Arioch.
The former was on the ground, his dark coat working a fierce lather. The latter was in some sort of form with wings and hands and fangs, frantically using all of his arts to save the former. They won the battle. But they might still lose the war, if the general died. Their victory had come at great price. Terrenus was dead. But would Moloth live?
The attack that day had been a lightning raid on one of the Celestials' watering places at the River. The traitor's information was correct – none had been expecting it. The entire Herd had been sent running, foals, mares and elders, while the Sentinels had stayed to buy time. It was a slaughterhouse.
Moloth's head snapped back as he whinnied in pain. Arioch ignored him.
As the Twilights had descended upon the doomed Sentinels, Terrenus's stone horn had snapped – part vanishing with its owner, part still living inside Moloth. It pained him to the point that he could not stand.
So Arioch tried to save him.
As Moloth lay on the ground, sides heaving, he lifted his eyes to the skies. If that Unicorn had crossed them, then he swore that the Celestial would beg for death.
But first, Arioch needed to save him.